Opinion: Guest Opinions

The debate regarding the trail in the North Trail Study Area (NTSA) is not about whether the trail should continue from Boulder to the north, but only where it should go. The issue is: west side of U.S. 36 versus east side of U.S. 36. The bikers want to go on the hillside west of the highway, straight through the only land in the entire NTSA that is designated as a Habitat Conservation area — the highest designation for protection of the flora and fauna. The alternative is to improve the trail already on the east side and then west at the Joder and Heil Ranches, which adds about a mile plus. The view? Instead of looking down at the eastern plains you are looking up to the mountain backdrop — a fun ride from Boulder to the north and ultimately to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Why should we care? From the very beginning, we were committed to protecting these lands for their inherent value as natural areas. In those days, we unabashedly thought of them as part of "mother nature." Over the years, citizens voted and supported the 1959 Blue Line limiting growth in the foothills, the 1967 sales tax election for purchasing open space, the 1973 ordinance establishing an Open Space Board of Trustees (note the word "trustees") and the 1986 Department of Open Space. While passive recreation was always recognized as an obvious asset, and an essential motivation was to buffer Boulder from urban growth, most importantly the program was designed to protect these lands for their beauty and fundamental value as unspoiled nature.

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They are home to the plants and animals we cherish, to be protected for their own sake. It never felt like an undue burden to limit some of our uses, and it still feels like a small price to pay for the benefits. At the 40th anniversary celebration of the open space program, our late friend Al Bartlett said, "We have the responsibility to manage our open space lands and their unique ecosystems so that they can be passed on, ecologically undiminished, to our children, to their children , and to their children" — the original mantra of the open space election. Cannot human activities accommodate the needs of nature?

Boulder is particularly blessed, nestled against the foothills, surrounded by beauty. And open space has been fundamental to our identity — the first city in the nation to tax itself to protect our natural heritage. It is a testament to our collective restraint that in giving nature a little room to roam, we have discovered an inexhaustible generosity in her steady solace and beauty. Let us not destroy what we love.

Ruth Wright and Oakleigh Thorne II are Boulder residents who campaigned for the 1967 open space sales tax ballot issue.

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